It is a fact that Pakistan’s military establishment and its various Punjabi-Muhajir affiliates (e.g., Malik Riaz of Bahria Town, Yunus Habib of Mehran Bank) have kept a large number of TV anchors and journalists (both in Islamist dominated Urdu media and lifestyle liberals dominated English media) on their payroll in order to influence the media discourse and public opinion.
The most prominent name in the list of journalists (published by Aaj TV) allegedly on the payroll of real estate tycoon Malik Riaz was that of Pakistan’s top “liberal” columnist and anchor Najam Sethi. An account of favors given to numerous journalists in shape of money, car and property etc is recorded in the trademarked letterheads of Bahria Town published by Aaj TV and other websites.
Seen from that angle, there is not much difference between right-wing daily Ummat (or Jamat-e-Islami) or liberal-wing The Friday Times (or Jinnah Institute).
Najam Sethi, the cartaker Chief Minister of Punjab, is a close friend of Malik Riaz, Pakistan’s leading and biggest land grabber. In fact, Sethi and some of his colleagues (Hamid Mir, Marvi Sirmed etc) are allegedly on Malik Riaz’s payroll. This may explain from where did Mr. Sethi got millions of dollars to buy most expensive apartments in the United States.
Malik Riaz started Jinnah newspaper in 2002 and wanted to become columnist but he failed to do so that was one of the reason for paying top columnist to write for him.
Malik Riaz has close links with Saudi-Wahhabis and ASWJ-LeJ. He is the same person who offered sanctuary to Deobandi militants of Lal Masjid / Jamia Hafsa and rebuilt a new Jihadi Deobandi madrasssa for Umme Hassan and Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid. He also has liberal Marvi Sirmed on his payroll.
In other words, Malik Riaz’s influence spans from Islamofascist Umme Hassan to lifestyle liberal Marvi Sirmed.
In 2011, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudary had ordered inquiry into alleged land-grabbing by Pakistan Army’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and Malik Riaz’s Bahria Town. A judicial report concluded that DHA and Bahria Town were involved in massive land grabbing and encroachment under the nose of the country’s regulators and police. The inquiry report revealed that three leading property developers, including Bahria Town and DHA, illegally seized around 30,000 kanals (3750 acres) of land using private militias. The criminal activities of the groups were perpetrated in connivance with police, revenue department and lower judiciary, the report added.
Sources claimed that Malik Riaz of Bahria Town has been rendering bribes of billions of rupees to renowned politicians, military officials, and even journalists in a bid to perpetuate his activities with complete impunity.
It is noteworthy that a senior anchorperson (Talat Hussain), while talking to saach.tv, claimed that Malik Riaz had given a “precious car” as bribe to Najam Sethi. Another anchorperson claimed that Riaz had also gifted a sumptuous villa in Dubai to Mr. Sethi.
On June 6, 2012, Talat Hussain revealed Malik Riaz had informed him that certain anchors who referred to their sources as ‘churiya’ (birdie) and other such birds, in their respective shows, were in fact referring to him (Riaz). However, Talat Hussain did not take any names, perhaps, because it is well known in news circles that Najam Sethi often refers to his sources as ‘chiriya’.
On the very same day Najam Sethi had an outburst during his show when his co-host Muneeb Farooq repeated the allegations hurled by Hussain. Sethi said he would be sending a legal notice to Talat Hussain. But Sethi wouldn’t stop there: he had a few accusations of his own to hurl towards Talat Hussain. Sethi accused Talat, without mentioning his name, of reporting for Stratfor, a global intelligence company which Sethi said was a front for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), sourcing WikiLeaks. [Talat clarified his position on this allegation in a subsequent talkshow.]
Be that as it may, close aides of the popular newsman claim that up till now legal actions has not been taken by Sethi. When Sethi was contacted, he refused to divulge into his actions against Talat.
Talat Hussain was not available to comment on the story, although Raza Muhmood Agha, who is the producer for Hussain’s talk show told The Express Tribune that it was unlikely that Sethi would send them a legal notice since Hussain had already clarified all accusations levelled by Sethi, the very next day on his talk show.
Note: Watch last 20 mins of Talat Hussain’s show for his allegation against Sethi while last 15 minutes of Sethis’s show to see how he threatens Talat Hussain with legal consequences and also alleges that Talat is a CIA agent.
Najam Sethi talks about alleged benefits from Malik Riaz
In his program ,Talat Hussain explained his position about agreement with US based organization and looks fine and appropriate. Talat Hussain also declared his assets and bank accounts and dared Najam Sethi to follow the example.
Example of Malik Riaz’s links with and influence on Pakistan military establishment
Lt Gen Shahid Aziz quoted Lt Gen Khalid Maqbool, a former NAB Chairman, as saying while trying to convince him that:
“If you stop corruption, there will be no development. If ministers and politicians are not given personal benefits in contracts, why would they pursue development schemes? They have to be given personal incentives…contracts to their sons and kinship.”
Once Gen Musharraf had personally called him and asked him:
‘…. drop the name of one Malik Riaz Hussain from the exit control list. (Riaz Hussain was one of prime accused in a multi-million-forest land scam) As President of Pakistan, I give my personal guarantee that he (Malik Riaz) would not run away. Isn’t a personal guarantee of the President of Pakistan sufficient to satisfy you’? Malik’s name was removed from the ECL subsequently. NAB; A page from our history Inam R Sehri http://www.seamonitors.org/id148.html
He said when he put the name of Malik Riaz Hussain (of Bahria Town) in the exit control list while investigating a forest land case, he had to face bitter arguments with President Musharraf to take out Malik`s name from the ECL. “As President of Pakistan, I give my personal guarantee that he (Malik Riaz) would not run away. Isn`t a personal guarantee of the President of Pakistan sufficient to satisfy you”, he quoted Mr Musharraf as saying. Malik`s name was pulled out of the ECL subsequently, he said. REFERENCE: Musharraf stopped probes, says ex-chief of NAB By Khaleeq Kiani 6th December 2009 http://archives.dawn.com/archives/37897
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Sharifs could not say no to Malik Riaz in Najam Sethi case
By Iram Salim
Islamabad, March 27 (www.pakdestiny.com) The sparrow of Najam Sethi, property tycoon Malik Riaz, has finally won the Sharif Brothers to hand over the ‘priced’ caretaker chief ministerhip to his man.
Sharifs also seemed to be afraid of the ire of Jang Group for not agreeing on the name of their anchor – Sethi. By agreeing on Sethi’s name, Sharifs think they have got closer to Malik Riaz as well as to the Jang group but only time will tell.
Sethi has shown how desperate he was to get some “official protocol” by entering the government setup. However, the actual kingmaker behind the scene is none else than the property tycoon Malik Riaz.
* Real estate tycoon says he never distributed money, house, plots and air tickets among journalists * All such allegations aim at defaming journalists
Staff Report
LAHORE: Zahid Hussain Bukhari, counsel for property tycoon Malik Riaz, read out message of his client that he (Riaz) never distributed money, houses, plots or air tickets among journalists.
Addressing a press conference, Bukhari read the message, “News reports alleging me for distribution of money, houses, plots and air tickets to various journalists are absolutely false and baseless. I deny and reject them completely.”
The message read further the allegations were anonymous which proved that their aim was to defame journalists. This is the handy work of the dirty tricks section of a political party.
“It is reported that I told TV anchor Talat Hussain that I was one of the ‘chirya’ or source of anchor Najam Sethi’s information. This is a white lie. I have never met or spoken with Talat Hussain. I demand him swear on oath that he talked to me and passed on this false information too. I reserve my right to sue him for this false allegation. I make it clear that I have never given money, plots, air tickets to Najam Sethi or anyone else as alleged,” the message also read.
“In another instance, the allegations are printed on Bahria Town letterhead, which could have been stolen from any of Bahria Town offices across the country. This is a fake document and was not prepared by the administration of Bahria Town,” it also read. “If it had been an internal Bahria Town document, at least it should have shown that these favours were given to various alleged recipients and not as received shown on document.”
To a question, Bukhari said that he was reading out this letter as a messenger.
About press conference of his client while holding the holy Quran in hand, Bukhari said it was Riaz’s personal act and “I did not like it”. He said that he respected the judiciary and would go to any extent to defend and protect its sanctity.
THIS SITE IS THE FOR CHILDREN OF CORRUPT PAKISTANI POLITICIANS,BUSINESSMEN,COMMUNITY LEADERS. IT MOCKS AT THE 200 MILLION WHO CAN BARELY SURVIVE IN THAR,BALOCHISTAN, SOUTHERN PUNJAB, FATA, PARTS OF KARACHI,HYDERABAD,KHUZDAR,NOSHKI, LAHORE,MULTAN,RAWALPINDI,YES EVEN ISLAMABAD,THE PLAYGROUND OF THE RICH POLITICIANS;
A child sits along a road median as he eats his breakfast of a single piece of “roti” (South Asian bread) while waiting for work in Karachi early morning May 6, 2012.
SEP 16: There are as many as 415 ultra-high net worthPakistanis — – super-rich people with a wealth of at least $30m each.
The recently released Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report 2013 says the number of these ultra-wealthy Pakistanis increased by 34 percent in just year, from 310 in 2012 to 415 in 2013.
Interestingly last year loadshedding, dire strait of the economy, violence, sectarian killings,cases of corruption, and terrorism at large played havoc with the national sentiment and psyche. It found its natural abode in thechange of guard at the polls.
For the motley super-rich individuals the party went on it seems.
The report says the collective wealth of these supernova Pakistanis is currently $50bn, which is up 25 percent from 2012 when their total wealth stood at $40bn.
The World Bank estimates Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) at $231 billion, which means that the wealth of 415 wealthiest Pakistanis is worth more than one-fifth, or almost 22 percent, of the country’s GDP.
A global prospecting, intelligence and wealth due diligence firm, Wealth-X worked with private banks, educational institutions and luxury brands to compile this report with sponsorship from UBS, an international financial services firm.
Out of the 20 countries listed in the Asian category, Pakistan’s rank is 12th in terms of super-rich individuals’ population. Interestingly, Pakistan posted the biggest percentage increase in terms of both the super-richindividuals population as well as total wealth such individuals possess.
The report also highlights that the average wealth of a Pakistani super-rich in 2013 was $121 million. In contrast, the global average wealth of a super-rich in 2013 was $139 million, which is 16 percent higher than the average Pakistani super-rich.
While the United States and Europe grew faster than Asia in the last 12 months, the report forecasts that Asia will have more ultra-wealthy individuals and wealth than both regions in the next five years.
“At the current growth rates, Asia’s ultra-wealthy population and wealth will eclipse that of Europe in 2021 and 2017, respectively,” the report said as cited by Internews.
Pakistan Needs a Thailand Style to Kick Out Absolutely Incompetent and Corrupt Nawaz Sharif Government
The earlier we get rid of the corrupt and incompetent political leadership, the better for Pakistan …a soft coup is the need of the hour
Pakistani government feels weight of army’s heavy hand
BY MEHREEN ZAHRA-MALIK
ISLAMABAD Fri May 23, 2014 12:30pm BST
Please Tell Us How Many Pakistanis Live in Such Luxury
RAIWIND PALACE
(Reuters) – At Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s palatial offices in Islamabad this week, the army chief sat down to deliver the head of government a message he did not want to hear: The time for talks with the troublesome Pakistani Taliban was over.
Sharif came to power a year ago promising to find a peaceful settlement with the Islamist militant group, but as round after round of talks failed, the powerful armed forces favoured a military solution.
Their patience finally ran out and, late on Tuesday afternoon, during a tense meeting, the army effectively declared it would override a crucial plank of the government’s strategy and take matters into its own hands.
“The army chief and other military officers in the room were clear on the military’s policy: the last man, the last bullet,” a government insider with first-hand knowledge of the meeting told Reuters.
Asked to sum up the message General Raheel Sharif wanted to convey at the gathering, he added: “The time for talk is over.”
The next day, Pakistani forces launched rare air strikes against militants holed up in the remote, lawless tribal belt near the Afghan border. It is not clear whether Sharif authorised the operation.
On Thursday, they backed that up with the first major ground offensive against the Taliban there, undermining Sharif’s year-long attempt to end a bloody insurgency across his country through peaceful means.
Disagreement over the militant threat is the latest row to flare up between the government and military, and relations between the two branches of power are at their lowest ebb for years, according to government officials.
The government did say talks with the Taliban would go on.
“We will talk with those who are ready for it and the (military) operation is being launched against those who are not ready to come to the negotiating table,” spokesman Pervez Rashid told local media on Thursday.
But the operations put the military, which has a long record of intervening in civilian rule through plots and coups, firmly back at the centre of Pakistan’s security policy.
The balance of power is shifting at a time when foreign troops are preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan, and arch-rival India has just elected a Hindu nationalist leader promising to be more assertive on the international stage.
“This is the clearest signal yet that the army will dictate its terms now,” a member of Sharif’s cabinet said.
TALIBAN ON THE OFFENSIVE
The Pakistani Taliban, as distinct from the Afghan Taliban which is actively targeting NATO forces in Afghanistan, is believed to be behind attacks on Pakistani soldiers and civilians that have killed thousands in recent years.
The Pakistan army has distinguished between “good” Taliban like the feared Haqqani network – who do not attack Pakistani security forces but fight in Afghanistan – and “bad” Taliban, indigenous Pakistani militants who are seeking to create an Islamic state.
While Pakistan’s military wants to go after the “bad” Taliban, it has, despite pressure from Washington, largely avoided taking on groups who launch attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan from Pakistan’s North Waziristan region.
Prompting the latest intervention, the Pakistani Taliban have become increasingly bold, striking the army in tribal areas including a recent battle in which an army major died. Earlier this month, nine soldiers were killed in an explosion near the Afghan border.
“We will avenge the blood of every last soldier. Talks or no talks, the army will retaliate,” said one military official, who, like most others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The army has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history. Sharif himself was toppled by the army in 1999 during his previous tenure as prime minister.
But, humiliated after a secret 2011 U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil, the army stood back from politics and supported last year’s first democratic transition of power which brought Sharif back to office.
Sharif manoeuvred carefully, hand picking a new army chief and trying to forge a partnership with the military in the early days of his tenure, but the overtures had little lasting impact.
TRADE, DIPLOMACY
There are other signs of civil-military discord.
Sharif came to power promising to rebuild relations with India, but has been under pressure to toughen his stance from hardliners at home, particularly within the army.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over the still-disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
Sharif’s policies towards India have been heavily scrutinised; some in the army justify its hefty budget by pointing to – and, critics say, playing up – the potential threat from India.
And despite signs the military has become more amenable to overtures from its old foe than in the past, a trade deal pushed by the prime minister and aimed at improving ties with India was cancelled at the last minute after pressure from the army, top government officials said.
Sharif now faces a dilemma over whether to accept an invitation by Indian Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi to attend his inauguration next week.
The army is also bitter about the trial of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who ousted Sharif from power in 1999 and was arrested after he returned to Pakistan to take part in last year’s election.
Ties with Afghanistan have never been easy, but some officials believe the army wants to torpedo the government’s relationship with a future Kabul administration, risking a deterioration in regional security as NATO troops prepare to leave this year.
Generals have jealously guarded the right to dictate policy on Afghanistan, seeing friendly guerrilla groups as “assets” to blunt the influence of India there.
TENSIONS COME TO SURFACE
Though simmering under the surface, tensions between the government and the army spilled into the open last month when a popular journalist was shot by unknown gunmen, and his channel, Geo News, blamed the army’s powerful spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Public criticism of the shadowy ISI is almost unheard of in Pakistan. In a rare public response, the army demanded that Geo News, the country’s most-watched news channel, be shut down.
The government’s media regulator has since resisted the army’s demands to cancel the channel’s license, which the military sees as a direct sign of defiance.
“Everyone was looking out to see how the government would treat the army in this crisis — as a friend or foe?” said a senior military official. “But the government allowed this to become a free-for-all, army-hunting season.”
For Sharif, buckling under military pressure is a major risk. “This is not about one TV channel but about freedom of expression and about living in a democracy,” Rashid said. “We should live and let live.”
But despite putting on a brave front, officials say the government is feeling under siege.
“Never in the last year has the government felt weaker or more vulnerable,” one of Sharif’s key economic advisers said. “Now every time we have to take a major decision, on India, on Afghanistan, we will have to think ‘How will the army react?'”
A serving general said the army chief would always pick the “institution over the constitution if push comes to shove,” adding: “As a society and a state, we have to avoid a context in which the army is pushed to do something it doesn’t want to.”
NO DEFENCE OF ISLAM & PAK ARMY,BUT PERVAIZ RASHEED HINTS AT GOING TO ANY EXTENT TO SAVE JANG/Geo
Pervaiz Rasheed hints at going to any extend to save Jang/Geo
MAY 19, 2014
By
Raza Ruman
Islamabad, May 19 (Pak Destiny) Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed has hinted that he will go to any extend in supporting and saving the Jang/Geo group come what may.
Pervaiz Rashid has warned the Cable Operators of blocking any TV channel (Geo) or disturbing its number. He did not condemn the Karachi Press Club incident in which Geo group reporters stopped the Cable Operators from holding a press conference. On the issue of ISI chief bashing, Pervaiz Rasheed has not yet given comments being a law minister too sought from the PEMRA. Earlier,he had made it clear “we are with the people of dalil (Geo group) not with the people of galail (ISI, army)”. Let’s see if Mr Rasheed manages to save Geo from shutting down after the latest blasphemy episode involving its host Shiasta Lodhi. But one thing is clear Pervaiz Rasheed is making all out efforts to save the media group whom Imran Khan has labelled “PML-N media cell”. – Pak Destiny
For Nawaz Sharif, solutions are blowing in the wind
By
Dr.Moeed Pirzada
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appears to be caught in a political nutcracker, mostly of his own making. On May 11, it was Imran Khan who stood, amidst thunderous applause, at Islamabad’s D-chowk demanding: electoral reforms, thumbprint verifications in four constituencies, as well as investigations into election rigging.
And then there was an ingenious Dr Tahirul Qadri, who offered an impressive fusion of Islam, constitutionalism and technology. The fiery cleric held large crowds spellbound with his rejection of the current parliamentary system. For his part, PM Nawaz needs to find a political solution — and he needs to find it fast.
The heads of both the PTI and PAT are capitalising on the political space created by his unending brinksmanship with the military that skyrocketed following allegations that PM Nawaz Sharif had aligned himself with a private media group against GHQ – a situation that has also left PML-N friendless in an increasingly hostile media market.
There is also little doubt that both PTI and PAT agendas have gained a sharp edge from the recent turn of events. But these agendas present an interesting challenge, not only to PM Nawaz but also to the whole political set-up, of which PTI is also part. Clearly, PML-N decision makers fear that acceptance of thumbprint verifications risks undermining the legitimacy of the party’s impressive victory in the 2013 elections.
Though mainstream media tends to focus on Imran Khan and his demands (viewing Qadri’s agenda as unrealistic and unachievable), more and more young men and women have started to find Dr Qadri more logical, clearheaded and nuanced than Imran.
Is there a political significance? Yes, it means if Imran is seen becoming soft on Nawaz, or fails to achieve any concessions then the dissatisfied ranks of the opposition will find Dr Qadri the more attractive candidate of the two. Given that his relations with the military establishment are not all that good, it is imperative for Nawaz to strike a compromise somewhere. What remains to be seen is: will he accept Imran’s political demands to reform the electoral system or will he quietly settle his differences with the restive military establishment?
In an appearance on Express TV after the May 11 jalsas, Punjab’s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, renewed Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique’s earlier offer in the National Assembly that PML-N will be willing to accept thumb print verifications if PTI also agrees to allow the same exercise in four constituencies of PML-N’s choice (NA-55, 56 in Rawalpindi from where Sheikh Rashid and Imran Khan won and NA-149 and NA-150 in Multan from where Javaid Hashmi and Shah Mehmood Qureshi won).
Rana argued that ever since this counter-offer PTI has been quiet. However, towards the end of the same broadcast, senior PTI leader Asad Umar said that his party had accepted in lower house PML-N’s demand for counter verifications in four PTI constituencies. Asad said that in response to this Khawaja Saad Rafique then proposed, rather strangely, to make a parliamentary committee to examine the issues which looks to PTI like “backing off” from the initial proposal since both parties need to go straight to the Election Commission for fact-finding instead of wasting time with a fact-finding parliamentary committee that won’t have the capacity to determine facts.
Now it seems PML-N had calculated that their counter-proposal of doing thumbprint verifications in four PTI won constituencies will unnerve the PTI but apparently PTI has called their bluff and now PML-N is trying to wriggle out of the deal.
But political arguments are like peeling onions, so it remains to be seen how the PML-N will now respond to this latest clarification by PTI. But now ongoing negotiations assume a new meaning given Imran Khan’s carefully worded but firm demand from the current Chief Justice that the Supreme Court needs to order thumbprint verifications in the four constituencies. This time around the court will find it difficult to ignore the case.
Irrespective of what the court may or may not do, the emerging scenario demands that PM Nawaz Sharif show flexibility and compromise with the parliamentary opposition or the military establishment. He may also need to reflect on the PML-N’s media management; perhaps initiating a move to diversify his media support instead of relying exclusively on one media group.
